‘Vibe is fantastic’ at downtown Langley’s Arts Alive

Surrounded by her art – and the art of her peers – during Arts Alive, the 54-year-old Langley painter also had a chance to chit-chat with the many of the art enthusiasts who visited the 23rd annual celebration of art, music, and entertainment in downtown Langley.

This is the seventh year that Holmes has been involved in Arts Alive, exhibiting her acrylic paintings “with a little bit of mixed media,” and her enthusiasm for art, and the festival, is infectious.

“The vibe is fantastic. It’s always so well attended, probably one of the best-attended art shows. There’s such a variety, and there’s all demographics,” she said. “It just works for families, for professionals [artists]… [it’s a] great way to network.”

And while Holmes’ involvement with Arts Alive doesn’t always equate to sales, she noted it “equates to people being really touched by what you do, and so that’s all you can do as an artist.”

Holmes’ work is permanently on display outside the Brookswood Royal Bank; her acrylic mural stretches along the east wall of the building, and was unveiled last June during the 2015 Brookswood Summerfest.

Arts Alive provides an ideal venue to share her work with a large audience.

“There’s the Langley Arts Council which I belong to, so we do some smaller things throughout the year, but this is the biggest,” Holmes said. “There’s so much to gleam from, here and because I live in Langley, it’s a good way to support local [art] as well.”

It’s Holmes’ dream to be a full-time professional artist.

“I try to be,” she said, laughing. “I don’t pay the bills with it; I have a full-time job, too, but I do this every, single day.”

Her love of art opens windows for Holmes’ imagination, she said: “Every day you see opportunities of where to paint, what to paint… you just see things a little differently.”